"Sit down, madam, I beg. Will you have some tea?"
The lady sat down. "Thank you, I have had tea. It was on the
recommendation of your next-door neighbour, Miss Isabel Scarlet----"
"Indeed," replied Mr. Lavender, whose heart began to beat; "command me,
for I am entirely at her service."
"I have come to see you," began the lady with a peculiar sinuous smile,
"as a public man and a patriot."
Mr. Lavender bowed, and the lady went on: "I am in very great trouble.
The fact is, my sister's husband's sister is married to a German."
"Is it possible, madam?" murmured Mr. Lavender, crossing his knees, and
joining the tips of his fingers.
"Yes," resumed the lady, "and what's more, he is still at large."
Mr. Lavender, into whose mind there had instantly rushed a flood of
public utterances, stood gazing at her haggard face in silent sympathy.
"You may imagine my distress, sir, and the condition of my conscience,"
pursued the lady, "when I tell you that my sister's husband's sister is
a very old friend of mine--and, indeed, so was this German. The two are
a very attached young couple, and, being childless, are quite wrapped
up in each other. I have come to you, feeling it my duty to secure his
internment.
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